Ammonia ? Need Immediate HELP!

R

rockbellab

AC Members
Nov 21, 2005
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Turtle Lake, ND
At what levels are Ammonia and Nitrite lethal. I've read several freshwater books but either they don't state it exactly or I don't understand what they are saying. At what level are they serious, dangerous, lethal? I need a serious answer and quick. My Ammonia reading tonight is 2.0ppm up from 1.0 two nights ago before a 50% water change. My Nitrite reading was 0.50 (it has been the same for a week now). pH is down from 7.6 to 7.2 (not sure if the Prime did this or what), the pH has been going down since the tank was established. Nitrate is 10 ppm (has been the same since 11-2. I added Prime for the first time on 12-1 when I did the water change. Please help and I need to know exactly what to do to change this situation. I have two Oscars that are at risk (10" & 11"). Thanks.
 
With Ammonia and Nitrites any Amount over zero, will stress your fish. It actually sounds as if your tank is cycling. Did you initially fishless cycle or are you cycling with fish? Have you changed you Filter media?
 
Further to what Boesemani Fan is saying: whether or not it'll be lethal will depend on the fish. Some are more "hardy" than others. The best approach is to assume anything over 0 is possibly lethal and deal with it from there.

Roan
 
My fish are Oscars (10" & 11"). They were moved into their new tank one week ago today (after cycling). After much thought last night on what to do after changing 1/2 the water made no difference I remembered that when I was getting ready to fill the tank with water from my faucet I had tested the water using a stick. Out of desperation I decided to retest my tap water using my test kit (bought after test strips). The reading directly from the sink after 5 minutes was 2.0ppm. I was completely shocked. Today I'm getting 40 gallons of RO water to replace 1/2 the tank water with (I already have the Kent Marine R/O Right to replace the nutrients). I'm praying that this will work. The only problem is that the water won't be the exact temp of their tank which I'm sure will stress them. I'm going to add an additional heater that will hopefully help. Do you think that I should boil a little of the water and pour it in with the colder water to warm it up before putting it in the tank? All suggestions are appreciated.
 
I'm confused -- have you been using this tap water all along?

Test strips are known to be inaccurate. If you've been using this water all along and just recently tested it with liquid chems, it could be one of three things:
1. your strips are way off
2. your tap water has changed
3. Your tank did not cycle

Can you post the rest of your water readings, please? Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates. We need that information to help you.

In the meantime -- are you treating the water with dechlorinator -- like Prime? That's ALL you need to do. You don't need RO water.

Prime will bind the ammonia -- you will still get a reading for a while, but the ammonia is harmless.

We do need the readings to tell if your tank cycled or not.

Roan
 
Last edited:
First reading (Mid-November):
Freshwater High Range pH - 7.8
Ammonia - 0.50ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrate - 5.0ppm

After adding BIO-Spria(one day after first readings):
pH - 7.8
Ammonia - 0.25ppm
Nitrite - 0.25ppm
Nitrate - 5.0ppm

Nov 28th testing:
pH - 7.4
Ammonia - 0.50ppm
Nitrite - 0.50ppm
Nitrate = 10ppm
Did 20% water change (just added AquaSafe)


Dec 1st testing (beginning of concerns):
pH - 7.6
Ammonia - 1.0ppm
Nitrite - 0.50ppm
Nitrate - 10ppm
Did 30% water change (added Prime add online suggestion)

Dec 3rd testing (major concerns):
pH 7.2
Ammonia - 2.0ppm
Nitrite - 0.50ppm
Nitrate - 10ppm
Did a 50% water change (added Prime again)

Dec 3rd testing (after water change):
pH - 7.6
Ammonia - 2.0ppm
Nitrite - 0.25ppm
Nitrate - 10ppm
(Was shocked that Ammonia levels did not change, this is when I started thinkng about what could be the cause and retested my tap water using the master test kit - The Ammonia straight from the tap after five minutes was 2.0ppm and I tested twice just to be sure).
I went and bought RO water this morning (I already bought Kent Marine R/O Right a week ago, I use it in my Betta's tank). My problem now is how to get 50 gallons of water warmer so that I can add it to my Oscars tank without shocking/hurting them. I have a second heater I can add. Do you have any suggestions? Should I change that much water? I have a 75 gallon tank with a Rena Filstar XP1 (got free from a friend who was getting out of the aquariums, it's only six months old), a Marineland Emperor 400 and a Jager heater. I know that I need a stronger Rena Filstar and am hoping to get a XP3 next week. Please let me know about heating the water and any other answers that will help me and my babies. Thanks.
 
Yes I have been using this water all along.
 
Okay, ammonia in the tap water can be accounted for, it's chloramine and I have it in mine as well. Prime will bind the ammonia so that it's harmless to the fish, but you'll still get a reading -- it's these nitrite readings that are the real concern.

It honestly does not look like your tank has cycled or you have something going on that is causing mini-cycles.

How big is the tank?

Did you have fish in the tank when you added the bio-spira?

Can you run a full test on the tap water? Ammonia, nitrites, nitrates so we can see if it's coming from the tap water.

Thanks
Roan
 
The tank is 75 gallons. I did not have my O's in the tank (the LFS was holding them for me). I waited until the cycle should have been finished and the readings came back good for a week. I will test my tap water now and get back with you in 30 minutes or so. Thanks for your time.
 
These are the readings directly from my faucet (using the master test kit).

High Range pH - 8.8 (probably higher because it looks off the chart)
Ammonia - 2.0ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrate - 5.0ppm
Let me know what you think.
Thanks.
 
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